Sunday, January 23, 2011

A dreary, perfect Sunday ......(to-do:)

Today is dreary, cold, and full of weekend goodness. I often make lists in my head of the things I love, and maybe don't so much. At the top of my love-list is always Sunday. It is the best day of the week, a day for finishing projects and never changing out of your pajamas.

Today for my to-do:

Drink tea. Lots and lots of tea. On days off when the weather is cool, there is always a pot boiling on the stove. When I was a little girl, tea would solve everything. If you had pink eye, your eyes got a tea bath. If you had a headache, you'd breathe in the vapor from the tea. If your stomach was upset, a cup would cure it.I have been thoroughly ignoring all sideways remarks about the consumption of tea during pregnancy. Outside of our borders, there are countries who use tea as such an important part of their daily life. My Mom drank multiple cups a day when she was pregnant with me, so did her mother, and her mother's mother. And somehow, we all seemed to turn out okay, although slightly addicted to the sweet leaves that seem to course our veins. My favorite way to drink it is dark, black, and plain. No sweeteners, no tea bag, no other flavors.Like traveling to a place that is completely new to you, other country's traditions are little reminders that we are not the only ones here, and sometimes our way is not the best, or most important, or valid. I have also had to remind people regularly that women in Japan do not all have three-legged children from their daily intake of sushi. And I have continued to eat it often over the last 7 months.

Treating pregnancy as a new addition to my life, and not a disease that holds me down has made it so much easier to transition into these stages as they have come.Plus a little handful of sarcasm for the anal worry-warts.

A new sewing project. Our couch is getting a little makeover, at a fraction of the retail price. I paid $77 total for all the fabric, and 3 down pillow inserts. Two are 18 x 25, and one is 30 x 36. The big one is my favorite, and it is serving as a replacement for taking the back cushions off the couch to make it deeper. Last night, I found this small Marrakesh Pillow online for $125. Yeow, that's steep.

Eat yummy comfort food. This is my Mom's homemade Ash-e-Reshteh. You can find a recipe for it, here.It is full of beans, so it's a great source of protein for vegetarians (and pregnant women with meat aversions).It is one of my favorite dishes, I think I could eat it every day. As a little girl, I would love to watch Grandma sit on the living room floor in the sun and roll the noodles by hand. I can still smell the flour and dough as they rolled together to make the little noodles that my imagination turned into worms.

Finish the shadow box. Over the last few years I have filled our house with bowls, vases, baskets, and bins full of seashells, driftwood, and rocks that we've found on adventures. I started this shadow box a few weeks ago, and I think today it needs to finally be done. I am trying to find the perfect spot to place it when it's finished, and right now the shelves above the couch, our guest bathroom, the mantle, or baby room are the top contenders.

Happy Sunday, friends. I hope you have a wonderful head start to this week.

PS: hello to every one that is new, here. This little blog has reached around 50,000 visitors a month. Thank you always for coming here to leave sweet words, I hope you find whatever it is that you're looking for.

54 comments:

i love your sea collection! I always take little pieces of the beach with me when I go somewhere or even when im just at the beach near my house but I try to limit that so I dont pick the beach bare because everything looks apealing to me haha.

I happily drank tea through all my pregnancies..the health benes far outweigh the caffeine.It is a tradition in our Family too and we are a mix of many nationalities including European and American Indian.There is even a Pregnancy Tea or two as I am sure you know.Where do you buy your loose tea?

sounds so very lovely. a perfect sunday.i love how you are going about your pregnancy. some day when I get to experience it i'm going to come back and read all your posts about it again so I can try to adopt your attitude!

Your mention of pregnant-toenail-painting made me think of this post on another of my favorite blogs from a few days ago: http://omgmom.blogspot.com/2009/11/red-nail-polish-incident-or-why-i-cant.html good luck! LOVE your blog, amazing photos, style, and I'm so excited to see you as a mother! :)

I rarely ever comment, but stalk the blog quite a bit! I love that you still keep drinking tea and I had no idea that pregnant women aren't "supposed" to drink it. Maybe Because I'm Indian and we love our tea as well, so I just grew up with the ladies sticking their tea mugs high in the air to western ways.

Your house has been looking fabulous!! Let me tell you-I am far from having a baby, but I am in anticipation to see what your baby room looks like. Thanks for making me go a bit baby crazy! haha.

Anonymous- I'm so happy to hear that. I think the hardest part of pregnancy for me has been the criticism. The minute you are a parent, every one thinks they have a right to tell you how they think things should be done. And while I always appreciate a different input, unfortunately it is not always pleasant. I have a tendency to get very defensive and sarcastic when I believe that someone is assuming that their opinion is more valid than mine. Maybe I need to work on that :)

This brand in particular I bought from a Mediterranean market we have close by. I see them a lot in cooking stores, as well. If you can find any ethnic grocery store or market, you should be able to find loose leaf tea. It just depends on which kind you like! The Asian grocery stores carry them as well, but I prefer Indian tea so I head to Mediterranean markets for ours.

Aubrey- It was a gift from my Mom to Michael about 5 years ago for his birthday. He was fascinated with how we brewed our tea, because most people use a bag and just add boiling water to it. You put the leaves in the small pot on top, and let it steep in there before you pour it. She bought it at a Persian grocery store in Dallas!

Tina- I was actually shocked to hear that tea was a no-no, as well!! Since we use it for everything, it only makes sense that at a time when your body is uncomfortable and changing, that you find relief in what you've used as comfort your entire life.

"I just grew up with the ladies sticking their tea mugs high in the air to western ways."

I love that :)

I am in anticipation to see the baby room, too!!! haha. We are painting and putting up crown molding before I start decorating, so I've just been waiting for that to get done before I start all the fun stuff. For now, the room is just a pile of inspiration and things that will one day come together to be a room. I promise the pictures will be up as soon as it's done.

Aura, when i was pregnant my Dr. was a Persian. He said there was no problem in drinking tea especially if you come from a lineage of tea drinkers. it's just in our blood. and I agree, once you are pregnant everyone thinks they have the right to TELL you what is right for YOU. and I have to say, it doesn't get any easier once you have your little one. As the saying goes, "if you don't like my fire then don't come around"...(proverbially speaking that is) ;)

Oh my gosh, I would love a Persian doctor! But I guess midwives are pretty much along the same lines :) I figure this is the beginning of a long list of annoyances that I will be dealing with as a parent. It has made me a lot more cautious about giving unsolicited advice.And as far as liking my fire...I will keep burning one down, whether anyone else likes it or not :)

Thankyou for your beautiful photos and words to read every few days as my morning ritual..Im sitting here, sipping on my own tea, 35 weeks pregnant, and Im told that my little one is doing just perfectly. Im with you on the sarcastic comments to the over-worriers! Good luck with everything, you are simply glowing, but how I wish it was Winter here in Australia, our Summer is just a tad hot for one so pregnant.

i love the little wood beach bits you have!! ohh man. the comments on what people should and shouldn't eat/drink while pregnant annoy me and i'm not even pregnant. but i work at a coffee shop and hear random strangers giving their two cents to pregnant ladies all the time. usually i try to chime in and tell them that actually it's been proven in the last few years that you can drink some caffeine, it's not like they're punching themselves in the stomach. that usually shuts people up...

AND I totally agree with Kathleen. People do not stop when you have the child. Putting my foot down and sticking with how I want to raise my daughter has for sure been one the hardest parts of growing a little person!

I love lazy Sundays and Sunday projects as well. Enjoy all the cozy home comforts - I definitely need help on the sewing side - I never learnt and am now wishing I had as we need cushions for our home too! M xx

Sunday is my favourite day of the week too, especially since my husband and I decided that every sunday night should end with a trip to the beach. So nice. I can't wait to see your couch! Are you doing it yourself? I have a hideous salmon coloured couch that I would love to cover, but I don't think my sewing skills are up to the task.

Is it the caffeine that is supposedly in tea? I think it depends on the tea.. Tea is better than soda or coffee...Tea is healing and calming...btw my first gyno was Persian.. great doc... midwives are great too. then again all of my nurse practitioners were great, wish they could have delivered my kids.

Gaby- Oh goodness, I'm not tackling an entire upholstery re-do! Although I would love to do that, someday. In my dreams, my little store would be a collection of re purposed and forgotten furniture, with a new coat of paint and brand new fabric.I am just making large pillows for the back. We took the cushions off when we got the couch, so it would be deeper. I'm just making a few new ones to spice it up.

This sounds odd, but will you send me a picture of your salmon couch? It sounds interesting, and I'd like to take a peek. auramobile@cox.net

Kalei- Yes, it's the caffeine in it! But like a previous commenter said, they have long proven that it even causes issues in pregnancy.

Paula- I bought it at a local Designer Decorator fabric store. They just specialize in decorator fabrics. There is so much great fabric online, if you don't have anything like that close by!

Just in case you decide to breastfeed I used already brewed tea bags for sore nipples and for mastitis..it keeps it from getting bad enough for antibiotics in many cases. They work wonders..I think it is the tanic acid? I read it in one of my books when I was pregnant.I would just put them right in my bra and use breast pads to absorb the excess or use them in a bath. To me even the smell was soothing.

I don't drink tea, but I am going to have a go making ash-e reshteh. Looks good! :) I like the fabric you've picked out for your cushions. I have a few inserts lying around the place, you've inspired me to stop putting it off and go fabric shopping! :)

Just popping by to thank you sincerely for inspiring me to take up photography classes and learn how to use my boy's digital srl camera. I now take his camera with me EVERYWHERE, and delight in taking photos of the simplest things. So thanks so much xxx

Oh that recipe looks absolutely delicious! I'm living in a dorm, right now, but I just love to read your posts and daydream about how I'm going to decorate my own place and cook for myself, someday soon.

aura - i have no idea how i found your blog, i actually never really look at blogs (even though i do one myself), mainly 'cause i don't really relate to any of them. yours is so beautiful, i am in love :) i am a mother, and simple life/nature lover and would rather photograph the ocean, my son, and beauties in nature all day - every day. you are going to love being a mother, peaceful days at home with your little bundle will be heavenly. taking my boy on adventures is divine.

next week we are going to take a picnic to the field where the hot air balloons take off and just watch.

Since you mentioned us newbies on your site, thought I'd send a hello and thank you for sharing your insights, heart and ideas on your blog. It has inspired me to start my own blog...so far all I have is the name for it...took me forever to figure it out! And I'm going to buy me a nice camera...yeah!!

I painted my toenails myself throughout my entire pregnancy until the last week. It was just to much effort to try to reach...so I asked my husband to do it for me. He said he didn't know how and I just said pretend you are adding a small detail to a painting, start at the top and move down. He did and it turned out perfect. My toes looked cute for delivery, and we had some good laughs in the process.

For me going to the beach means that most of my time there my eyes will be searching the sands. Where I live in Costa Rica, the beaches get beautiful jungle seeds on their shores after a storm. They are naturally shiny and polished and I make jewelry and key chains out of them. They are also beautiful in vases.

I love what you do with your home. Can we see the final couch pillows?

Our Sundays were SO similar! Mine involved tea, sewing, creating, and cooking as well. :) I collect shells, driftwood, and pieces of coral and have some in every room of the house-it makes me feel a little closer to the beach...especially in this weather!

i love tea and drink it all through my pregnancies...the other night i went to a persian restaurant & they served the most amazing tea....she said it was loose earl grey with cardamom.....i'm obsessed now!!

I am so with you about pregnancy. I'm not and have never been, but I feel like when I am someday I'll weigh the options. I think I'll definitely still have that cup of coffee in the morning and an occasional shrimp! Glad to see you're keeping busy in these long winter months...baby will be arriving before you know it! Hope you have a wonderful week, Aura.

I think it's so crazy how paranoid society makes new-mothers now-a-days. Just a month ago I was having lunch with my grandmother, and we were watching out the window, observing a pregnant woman smoking. I voiced my digust until my grandmother said "Well I smoked through both of my pregnancies and both kids turned out fine! Back then, the doctor smoked in the hospital room while doing your check-up!" Now by no means do I condone smoking during pregnancy, since it is an obvious health-risk pregnant or not, but it really does show how much the world has changed. I think it gets to be ridiculous when mothers are told they can't even drink tea. Have you seen the documentary "Babies?" I have yet to see it, but it looks like a great example of how paranoid us westerners have gotten! :D

Sunday was my productive day this week as well. Cleaning the kitchen, re-cleaning the laundry/cat room and organizing to my hearts content. All the while washing tons of laundry. ox I love the shadow boxes, shells always make me feel at ease. ox